Archives for June 2013

Cirque du Soleil: Quidam Giveaway Winner

June 28, 2013 by Amy Leave a Comment

quidam

Alright, folks, we’re just one week away from the Quidam Cirque du Soleil show in Charlotte.

Are you ready for the winner of the giveaway for FOUR tickets? *squee* I’m so excited. I haven’t picked the winner yet as I type this so if I weren’t busy typing, I’d be rubbing my hands together.

Here we go…

OK, I’m back from random.org.

The winner is….

*drumroll*

~~Comment #6~~ ~~Niki~~

~~I would love to give this to my brother, his very pregnant wife and 2 girls in SC. They would eat it up!~~

Niki could not make it so we drew a second name: Comment #17 Tammy! Congrats!

And if you missed winning the giveaway, remember there is a discount for a 4-pack. No promo code is required. Just use this link or click on the image below.

We’re attending the Wednesday night show and I’ll be back on July 4th for a review.

What I Wore Wednesday 06.26.2013

June 26, 2013 by Amy 8 Comments

It’s Wednesday when I share my outfits from the week.

I pair my outfits with inspirational photos. Read more about that here.

Email and RSS readers need to click over to the site to see the inspirational photos.

Just one outfit for you this week. Last week we were still dealing with the water leak debacle while trying to get ready for a week in Florida. You did not want to see my outfits.

Since arriving in Florida, I’ve basically been living in a swimsuit.

I’ve had some colored shorts on my radar for a few weeks and I found some great ones here at The Loft Outlet and The Limited. We went out for a bit of shopping after eating dinner in Tuesday night and I wore one set of shorts.

Hope y’all are having a great week!

Let’s connect! Like AmyJBennett.com on Facebook. Follow me on Pinterest, Instagram or Twitter.

Linked with The Pleated Poppy’s What I Wore Wednesday

Working Mom Neurosis

June 25, 2013 by Amy 10 Comments

Two days after I posted The Summer Working Mom, we had a sitter come for the first time this summer to watch the girls. Scott was sleeping off his night at work and I was super busy with meetings.

We’ve done different things over the years during summer. For many years, my job was only 30 hours a week and I had very little meetings. I was able to make up work in the evenings after early bed times. Also, when the kids were younger, they still napped.

Some summers my mom and mother-in-law were both off one afternoon a week and would whisk them away. One summer we hired a middle-schooler to come hang out with them. Some summers we planned a lot of play dates at the house and they would play in their rooms or in the pool together for hours.

My job now is full-time and it’s changed in such a way that I could be in meetings on the phone for 6-8 hours straight. I don’t have the luxury of planning much work in the evenings.

The young lady we hired for this summer is 19. She’s super responsible and attentive and loves to play with them (not just watch them play) and can drive. The girls think it’s the best thing ever.

In fact, years later, they still talk about that middle-schooler coming to play with them and I’m sure they will do the same about this summer.

But let me share my neurosis about the whole situation.

When she came, it was fantastic to see her almost immediately grab a board game and take them to their room to play. They love board games and that’s something I definitely cannot do while I work.

Yay, this was the best idea ever. Look! They’re playing board games and not watching TV!

And then, guilt starts.

Oh my gosh, I’m the worst mother ever. They’re playing board games but it’s not with meeee! All their childhood memories will be with a sitter and not their mother.

Then, she takes them to the library and they pick out books to read.

Yay! They’re reading books–their teachers would be so proud. They’re going to have great memories of the sitter taking them to the library.

And then…

They’re going to go on Oprah one day and talk about how their mother never paid attention to them and they only remember me telling them to be quiet as I sat at my desk. Nevermind Oprah has been over for years. She’ll probably start the show again just to feature all their problems.

Then she swims with them–for hours. As I watch from my desk on my meeting, I can see they’re laughing and she’s doing flips with them and playing games.

What success! We got a great sitter who’s really giving them lots of attention–what more could I want?

Me. They could probably want more of me. All the other moms are at the pool with their kids. See? It’s right here on Twitter. I’m such a failure.

And on and on it goes. I continue to have an internal struggle about my kids, working and having a sitter. If I didn’t have one, they’d likely spend hours in the front of the TV. If I went into work, I’d hate not seeing them at all. So, I’m here where I see them all the time but then feel guilty about it all.

But the truth is, I know for a fact that I would not spend every single day playing board games, swimming and going to the library or the museum or whatever for hours on end. If I weren’t working, I’d be busy cleaning or organizing something or writing a blog post. I’d be doing something. Sure, there’d be more time with them but it’s not as if I’d do everything the sitter is doing.

And the fact is, they LOVE spending time with this sitter. I know they will talk about her for years to come and have great memories. I can only remember having a sitter a few times as a child and I don’t look back and say oh my gosh, my mother was such a failure. I can’t believe she wasn’t spending time with me. My thoughts are my mom had something to do and she got this great sitter for me and we had a ton of fun. Yay!

I’ve come to believe–thanks to my mom–that all this neurosis is just plain old unnecessary guilt. The Bible says Satan is out to steal, kill and destroy. He will do anything–anything–to steal my joy. Even when I have a successful job and kids that are having a blast, he is still trying to make me miserable about it all. And the thing is, no matter what situation I am in–working or not–he would do the same. It is his intent to make us unsatisfied and discontent with our job as mothers.

I believe, when I’m not being so neurotic, that there are none of us getting it “right”. It is not right to stay at home and it is not right to work. We are all called to our own place and only then are we getting it right. My job is to be sure of my call from God and then to be content with the calling and the outcome.

So, mothers, be certain I understood your neurosis. I live it, I breathe it, but I also do not accept it.

When the thoughts rage, I remind myself that I’m right where God has called me and He alone will complete the job He’s started in both me and my children. He knows what He’s doing and my job is to be content and trust Him. I remind myself to be thankful for my job, thankful for my kids, and thankful for a wonderful sitter. Gratefulness always kills the neurosis.

Moms, tell me I’m not alone. You struggle with thoughts like this too, right?

Low Country Boil

June 24, 2013 by Amy 10 Comments

Our small group from church decided to do some special meals together for the summer. One couple offered to do a Low Country Boil. Although I’d heard of it often and seen pictures of my friends on Facebook eating it, I’d never experienced it myself.

After tweeting about it, I realized that not only had many others not experienced one, some had not even heard of a Low Country Boil. So, I picked up a camera for the process and did a little research so we could all learn together.

The gist of a Low Country Boil is you get a huge pot of water, potatoes, sausage and one or more types of shellfish and boil it with some heavy seasoning.

Then, you normally throw it on a picnic table covered in newspaper where it’s all up for grabs. You’ll see we opted for throwing it in some pans instead.

I was curious, though, where exactly the Low Country Boil originated and found this from Coastal Magazine:

Once called Frogmore Stew, this one-pot wonder was created by a National Guardsman when he needed to cook a meal for 100 soldiers. Richard Gay, who learned the recipe from his family, had everyone remembering his stew. The dish was later named Frogmore, where Richard was from, by the guards who teased him about home. The postal service eliminated the name Frogmore, which changed this popular dish to Lowcountry boil.

I had suspicions it might be a Louisiana dish but it appears to have its roots right here in South Carolina, somewhere between Charleston and Hilton Head—a very lovely area of South Carolina if I do say so.

There are a ton of variations of a Low Country Boil. Some add crab, some add crawfish but here’s how ours went down.

First, you need a big pot like a turkey fryer. Most people make these for big outdoor get-togethers so that works perfectly.

Fill the pot up about half way with water. Dump 5 lbs of red potatoes and a lot of crab boil seasoning in your water. We used nearly a cup I’d guess.

The seasoning is the key. This crab boil came from Academy Sports for less than $5.

Sidebar – I will warn my gluten-free friends that this brand does have MSG in it. I took some Gluten-Flam and didn’t have any adverse reactions.

You’ll want to cook the potatoes until they’re just about done, about 30 minutes.

While that’s happening, cut your sausage—you’ll need 2-3 lbs. We used two kinds. The first is a beef sausage and the second is Kielbasa which has pork, turkey and beef.

When we went out, you could see the potatoes were at a rolling boil and ready for the sausage and corn.

Let that cook for another 15-20 minutes.

If you have folks in your group that are allergic to shrimp, you can take out a plate for them at this point.

Next, it’s time to dump in the shrimp—you’ll need 3 lbs. It’s shell-split and deveined raw.

After another 8-10 minutes, pour out your excess water in the grass.

And now…hold back your dogs and kids because it’s time to dump!

Tucker was READY for that food and you can see Bella’s nose up in the air smelling all the goodness.

As I said, normally, people throw it on newspaper on a table but it was just too muggy and hot out, so we took the party indoors.

And as Duck Dynasty folks would say, we were HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!

I know it might not look like much, but let me tell you, the seasoning is the star of the show. So much flavor and goodness. I do believe we’ll be experiencing another Low Country Boil, y’all.

Low Country Boil

5 lbs red potatoes

2-3 lbs sausage

24 small ears of corn

3 lbs of shrimp

Crab Boil to taste

Add water, seasoning and potatoes to a turkey fryer. Boil potatoes until tender (about 30 minutes). Add corn and sausage and boil 15-20 minutes. Add shrimp and boil 8-10 minutes. Remove excess water and pour food in pans or on newspaper. Enjoy!

Have you ever heard of this? Experienced it? Let me know if you make it yourself!

Cirque du Soleil Quidam Trailer and Giveaway Reminder

June 21, 2013 by Amy Leave a Comment

Take 90 seconds to watch the trailer above.

OK, is that not awesome? My favorite part is when the girl flies up above 3 men stacked straight up. I mean, who does that??

I’m getting so stinkin’ excited to see who wins the 4 pack Giveaway of tickets to see the show live in Charlotte. Just head over to the original post to comment to be entered!

I also wanted to remind you that there is a discount for a 4-pack. No promo code is required. Just use this link or click on the image below.

Twitterature – June 2013

June 20, 2013 by Amy 7 Comments

I’m once again joining with Modern Mrs. Darcy for her monthly link-up for books called Twitterature. The premise of this link-up is to share short, casual reviews of books we’ve been reading.

(affiliate links included below – thanks for supporting this site!)

Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist

Believe all the hype. Bread and Wine is worth the read. I was challenged, entertained and left in sobbing tears. Don’t let the title scare you off. This is about way more than food.

Bloom has chosen this book as its summer book club selection so check that out.

Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts of Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller

Blue Like Jazz has been on my list for years but I finally took the time to read. Donald Miller has a way of being authentic without being crass and being spiritual without being uptight. I loved reading how he came to believe in Christ as it’s so unlike my story, or many in my circles.

The ScrewTape Letters by C.S. Lewis

I love C.S. Lewis so it’s no surprise that The Screwtape Letters was a fascinating read for me. Really makes you think about life and the voices in your life and in your head and just the battles that are going on in and around you. I’d consider this a must-read books for Christians.

A Shepherd Looks at the Good Shepherd by Phillip Keller

I read the second book of this trilogy A Shepherd Looks at the Good Shepherd and found it absolutely fascinating. It’s a look at John 10 through the eyes of a modern-day shepherd. One of the best books I’ve read on Christianity in quite some time. Another required reading for Christians book.

Everything by Mary DeMuth

There were definitely some gems in Everything, but as a whole, it just didn’t resonate with where I am right now.

Poke the Box by Seth Godin

Another one that’s been on my list for awhile, I read Poke the Box as part of a book club at work. If you’re not familiar with Seth Godin, check it out. Otherwise, you’ve probably heard most of this message. Still, a great manifesto about being an initiator.

Wow, I read some fantastic books this month. I hope you check a few of them out if you haven’t and let me know what you think.

I’m still trying to get through Jon Acuff’s Start and really enjoying it so far. BooMama’s A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet is definitely next on the list!

My to-read list is getting shorter. What books would you add to my list?

One Week Downstream of the Water Leak

June 19, 2013 by Amy 6 Comments

I know it’s Wednesday and I really should be doing my WIWW post but the truth is, I only managed to get two pictures this week and one of them was too blurry to use.

What I’ve really been wearing is a bunch of paint.

Last week I told you about the water leak that we had in the girls’ room.

The house has totally been turned upside down since then. OK, at least half of it.

The girls both agreed that it really was time for the two of them to have separate rooms. The insurance company agreed we had to replace the carpet in their room so we have had to completely launch into renovation mode between the two rooms.

We had massive fans in two parts of the house for 3 days so we had to throw together a new room for the girls from the guest room. We removed the queen bed from the guest bedroom and unbunked their bunkbeds to use in there for now.

Scott had to throw in some closet organizers since we’d never installed those since the addition two years ago (I know). You can still see the white section of the wall in the picture below where we’ve never repainted where that was previously a window.

The plan is for Lexi to use this room. She’ll keep one of the twin beds in there and Emma will take the tall dresser to her room.

Lexi has chosen to keep the same bedding but wants to paint the walls a bright blue color. But before that, we’ve had to get Emma’s room settled.

The insurance company is replacing the carpet in the girls’ old room which will be Emma’s new room.

You might remember two years ago we repainted the girls’ room bright green after we put the addition on the house and the girls moved into the room.

Well, since then the beds have been in at least 3 different configurations and it had turned into one gigantic pig sty.

Since last week, nearly everything has been removed and cleaned out. I’ve had to clean out their bookcase, the huge mess of papers they had around their desk, the stuffed animals, all the clothes, belts and socks in the dressers. I couldn’t tell you how many bags of garbage and donation items I took out of there.

Whew, I’m just tired thinking of it again.

We got rid of the dresser and like I said, removed the bunk beds permanently and will put the queen bed in there with the tall dresser.

After cleaning out, the past few days we’ve been furiously trying to paint before the carpet gets installed.

We are loving this new gray she picked. It’s called Urban Sunrise by Valspar at Lowe’s. It’s so calming and it makes me want to repaint my house in grays instead of golds. Except that would be a huge pain as nearly every wall in my house is some sort of gold color.

You can spy Emma’s new comforter on the chair. It’s colorful as she likes but has some of the gray in it.

Another thing we’re working on is creating a huge white board for her above a built-in desk that’s going to go across the length of that wall. We’re using one of those kits you see at Lowe’s so I’ll let you know how that goes.

Last night we made it to the trim work. It seems like when you start repainting trim you realize the rest of the trim in the house needs painted and you keep doing “one more” section.

So, that’s where all our energy has been going this past week. It’s been crazy but really, it’s been a blessing in disguise. The girls’ room got a much-needed clean-out, they both easily agreed to new rooms, Lexi has been handling all this change like a champ and we’re getting new carpet.

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade–or a white board, as it were.

Compassion Bloggers Trip

June 18, 2013 by Amy Leave a Comment

If you’ve been a reader here for long, you know Compassion is a ministry close to our hearts. One of my favorite events in the blogging world is when blogging and Compassion collide a few times a year for their Compassion Bloggers trip.

This week a group of bloggers are in Nicaragua. Each day, they’ll all post the stories of what they’re seeing, how they’re impacted and what we can do.

Many of my favorite posts and bloggers have been found through these blogging trips.

Compassion has a feed of all the blogs here, or below is a list of each of the bloggers. Visit their sites and find whatever social media tools you prefer to follow blogs. Or, follow on Twitter with the hashtag #compassionbloggers. Promise it will be worth your time.

Christy Jordan @ Southern Plate Blogger